Oy, gefilte fish!
Fish second courses
The first and only thing you need to know about gefilte fish is that it’s nothing like the scary water-logged fish balls that come out of a Manischewitz jar. Nothing. Not even close. The gefilte fish my grandmother used to make was a taste of heaven (as in, Oy! God-in-heaven-forbid that I shouldn’t make The Fish this year.)
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<br />I didn’t learn this recipe at my grandmother’s knee. I know it by heart. Once a year, only on Passover, I call upon the spirit of Sarah Kaplan Tracht and make gefilte fish, by texture, taste and feel, by tradition and ritual, by mixing ingredients that evoke the delicious magic of her kitchen.
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<br />I remember The Fish: tender little oval mounds, mild in flavor, with sweet overtones of carrot and onion, a Jewish holiday delicacy served on fine china with a beet-red blast of horseradish. The combination would seem an incongruous affront to the palate, but the full effect shot through the nose straight to the brain, inducing tears and awakening every nerve in the body.
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<br />My advice: avoid all recipes that begin with the biblical words, like "On the First Day," and don’t forget the paprika. When it’s all said and done, gefilte fish is easy -- a basic dumpling.
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